Government of Republic of Maldives Decides to Adopt Japanese System of Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting for MNBC(Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation), the state-owned broadcaster

Official announcement of joint Japan-Maldives declaration concerning adoption of Japanese system for MNBC(Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation), the state-owned broadcaster

The Government of the Republic of Maldives has decided to adopt the Japanese system (8MHz ISDB-T) as its standard terrestrial digital television broadcasting system for MNBC(Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation), the state-owned broadcaster. This was officially announced on the afternoon of October 19 in a joint declaration of the adoption of the Japanese system signed by Takashi Morita, Japan's Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, and Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed, the Maldives' Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture.

The Republic of Maldives is the first country to adopt ISDB-T in the countries with 8MHz channel bandwidth.

1. Decision by Government of Republic of Maldives to adopt Japanese system (8MHz ISDB-T) forMNBC(Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation), the state-owned broadcaster

(1) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has continually worked with the persons concerned at the Maldives Government, etc. towards adoption of the Japanese terrestrial digital broadcasting system, while continuing to cooperate with the relevant ministries and agencies, broadcasting organizations and manufacturers, etc.

(2) The Maldives highly rated the Japanese system particularly for its ability to simultaneously transmit a large number of programs by means of multichannel, as well as the effectiveness of its emergency warning broadcasting system in the Maldives, which faces considerable natural disasters such as tsunami, etc.

(3) Consequently, the Maldives Government has decided to adopt the Japanese system as the terrestrial digital television broadcasting system for the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC). This was officially announced on the afternoon of October 19 in a joint declaration of the adoption of the Japanese system for MNBC signed by Takashi Morita, Japan's Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, and Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed, the Maldives' Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture.

2. Future MIC initiatives

(1) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will support the spread and smooth introduction of the Japanese system in the Maldives by providing support through technical cooperation and training of personnel, etc., coordinating with the relevant ministries, agencies, organizations and bodies.

(2) The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) will work diligently to further spread the Japanese system overseas while cooperating with the countries that have already adopted this system.

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There are three systems in international standards for terrestrial digital television broadcasting: the Japanese system (ISDB-T), the European system (DVB-T/DVB-T2), and the American system (ATSC). Compared with other systems, the Japanese system is technically predominant with its resilience against disasters by means of its built-in emergency warning broadcast system. Furthermore, it is possible with ISDB-T to transmit mobile terminal-oriented broadcasting (One-Seg) and high-definition television from a single transmitter, ensuring low cost and economical use, etc.

ISDB-T is adaptable to worldwide channel bandwidth(6/7/8MHz). In Maldives, channel bandwidth is 8MHz, so 8MHz ISDB-T is adopted. Maldives is the first country to adopt ISDB-T in the countries with 8MHz channel bandwidth.